Wearing awareness ribbon pins to draw attention to a specific cause has become increasingly popular among people of all ages. Traditionally, yellow ribbons denoting a family member’s service in the military were the first examples of bringing attention to a cause by wearing an awareness ribbon. However, as more people look for an elegant way to draw attention to the issues that concern them most, a growing number of awareness ribbon pins are available. Awareness ribbon pins are a great choice for people who want to distribute or sell the pins as a way to raise money for a specific cause. Choosing a pin that is brightly colored will help you bring attention to your cause, and can be purchased from distributors who can create almost any color or pattern you can imagine. If the cause you want to support doesn’t already have a color of ribbon associated with it, you can create one that represents your group. The following is a list of some of the traditional awareness ribbon pin colors and the causes they are associated with:

Pink Ribbon- Most often used as cancer awareness pins, specifically breast cancer awareness, pink is also associated with other causes related to women’s health. Pink ribbons are sometimes worn by mothers who have given a child up for adoption to demonstrate their support of the adoption process. Pink awareness ribbon pins are also associated with childhood cancer awareness.

Yellow Ribbon- As the first color to be associated with awareness ribbon pins, the yellow ribbon remains an important way for families and others to show their support for soldiers. Other causes represented by the yellow ribbon include suicide prevention, adoptive parents, bladder cancer, the “Amber alert” program, and endometriosis. A pale yellow ribbon is used to represent spine bifida, and a yellow ribbon with a heart denotes a person who has been left behind after a family member commits suicide.

Red Ribbon- The red awareness ribbon pin is used to show support for the fight against HIV and AIDS, but can also denote support for heart disease and stroke and several other diseases. The red ribbon is also used by the organizations MADD and DARE and in the fight against substance abuse.

Blue Ribbon- The blue ribbon is used to show support for numerous causes, including the elimination of drunk driving, child abuse prevention, victims of hurricane Katrina, and several types of cancer. Different shades of blue are also used, such as dark blue to represent victim’s rights and water-related causes.

Other ribbon colors and their meanings can be found by searching online. Creating custom lapel pins that you can use as giveaways or sell as fundraising efforts is a great way to raise awareness of your cause. These pins are popular among people of all ages, and both men and women wear them to show support for their causes.